Wife's 48

[Tempest67]

frame looks really good. Nice work....keep it going

[joedoh]

I could see you needing a pusher for stop and go traffic, normally the condenser is up against the rad core and the rad fan pulls air through both.

my advice? see what it does. a properly sized condenser could work fine.

[8man]

Thanks Tempest.

Joe, good advice. I'll look at it again, but taking a wait and see approach makes sense.

[Tempest67]

after working on my firewall this weekend, I appreciate how good yours looks , nice job.

also, I am using the same motor mounts as you and was thinking of adding gussets underneath the overhanging part..........what do you think? necessary?

[8man]

Tempest, I've had the motor and trans mounted to the frame, and it seemed secure. The mounts are pretty substantial and the 3 bolts each seem to hold it well.

If I had thought, before powder coating the frame, I probably would have, only for peace of mind. So if you haven't painted your frame, I can't think of a reason to not weld in a gusset.

If I have to do it now, I'll be really mad at myself.

[Tempest67]

I understand, once it is powder coated you don't want to start welding.

I removed my motor last week and have been looking at the 'overhang' and it is bothering me, and becoming one of those things that I am telling myself to do before the motor goes back in. I will post some pics of when I do it.

Your truck looks really good, keep it up

[8man]

Thanks for the compliment.

Also, I do want to see how you address the overhang. I am going to do it on the 54 when I get to it, now that I'm thinking about it.

[8man]

Well, here is a picture of what is going in the '48;
IMG_0409 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

350 block, Vortec heads, Quick fuel 750 carb, MSD 65,000 volt street performance ignition, 10:1 compression, 1.94 intake & 1.5 exhaust valves, Comp 274 extreme energy cam, block was decked and squared, has hypereutectic flat top pistons and a 1 piece rear main seal, and the wife loves the dress up stuff.

I'll get it and the 700R4 on the bare frame next week.

[Tempest67]

Wow, that looks sweet.

[8man]

Thanks. Very happy with the way it looks, now if it will just run like I want.

[OutlawDrifter]

I like the valve covers. That cam should have a nice idle note. How much stall are you going with?

Vortec heads are still the best "budget" head IMO, for a stock cube SBC.

[joedoh]

Gorgeous!

[8man]

Thanks guys.

The valve covers were converted to be held down with a flat head screw so they kind of hide in the cover.

Outlaw, going with 2200 stall. I looked at everything I could find on the Vortec heads, and the only negative I found was that some are cracked. So just make sure the ones you get are good. I also read the 906 or the 062 castings are the best, good combustion chamber, good size valves, and there are plenty out there. I won't know if I like it until the truck runs, but right now I'm feeling pretty good about it.

[OutlawDrifter]

Vortec heads are an easy 40hp gain over the smog heads.

2200 stall and some gear will make it a blast to drive! It's always fun when you can hit the start of the torque curve before you're moving.

[8man]

Have a posi with 373 gears. I'm hoping it'll be real fun!

[NorCalGal]

That’s a nice looking motor Robert and your dead on with that converter. When I ordered my converter I told them what I had for motor and trans(350ZZ4, th350 with gear vendor OD and 373 posit rear end) they suggested the 2200 stall.

[8man]

Thanks Jan, I am still figuring this stuff out and it feels good when I find out I did something right.

[Tempest67]

here's what I did to support the motor mount.

[8man]

Thanks!

[8man]

Got the tranny back today. Had the front runner kit on the motor, so time for some fitment.

I measured the distance between the radiator and the fan on the 350 and wouldn't you know it, Joe was right. The 283 and whatever water pump it had on it fit, but the 350 with the reverse water pump put the water pump into the radiator. So I had to remove and reverse the motor mounts! They are now installed as Joe said they should be installed. That is a pain with the front end assembled. But I got it done.

IMG_0414 by Robert Moorman, on Flickr

Of course, the bottom outlet on the radiator hits the belt tensioner, so I have to get that cut off and turned down. Also, with the engine a further back, I have to re-work the tranny support as it is at 2.9 degrees down angle and does not sit flat on the frame anymore. Other than that the block huggers fit, which was a plus given the other stuff.

Now to get the cab back on it and see what I'm going to have to do to the firewall!

[mongocanfly]

Ready to see more..!!

[oldman3]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

ready to see more..!!

x2

[NorCalGal]

Hey Robert, can you post some more pictures of the front of the motor and radiator.

[joedoh]

looks good in there!

the early frames use nuts and bolts and I tell everyone to keep their sanity and just cut the heads off the stock bolts and fish the rest out. the later frames (I think starting in 95?) had weld-nuts on the backside, so much easier!

[Tempest67]

looks real good, and yes, more pics please